Yesterday the ICRC released a report on the very scary and depressing trend of attacks on medical workers in situations of armed conflict and civil disturbances:According to Dr Robin Coupland, who led the research carried out in 16 countries across the globe, millions could be spared if the delivery of health care were more widely respected. "The most shocking finding is that people die in large numbers not because they are direct victims of a...
There are a few things that make me really hot under the collar. The first is the unending 100+ degree summer heat in central Texas. The second is the unending debate on the "state of the field", in particular the state of the International Political Economy (IPE) discipline. It is a topic near and dear to my heart (IPE, not Texas heat). A few years ago, I was so provoked by Benjamin Cohen's trenchant intellectual history of IPE and the...
Dulles Airport, just before noon. My daughter and I have dropped off my father in-law. We're sitting in our compact car, waiting for one of the vehicles blocking us to move on. After six minutes, I notice that the engine of the Acura SUV sitting to my left is off. Me: Hmmm. I don't think there's anyone in the car.Daughter: What do you mean?Me: We can't leave because of that Acura... but I don't think there's anyone in it.I wait another minute...
...sounds something like this.Why are these urban riots happening on this side of the pond?Predictably, two strong lines of argument are forming. Both of which can be supported from that interview.The 'mere criminality' school finds that these youths are robbing and looting out of sheer, brutal opportunism. Whereas the 'material deprivation' school sees these riots as the upsurge of social distress, misdirected political rage and alienation in...
Like Megan, I think that Naomi Wolf's post on Al Jazeera is dumb, dumb, dumb. Wolf gets it completely wrong because the whole popularity of Palin and Bachmann (particularly the former) is a function not of feminism, but of the 'new chauvinism.' What do I mean by that? The feminist movement has of course radically transformed American society. Women have broken into some of the last bastions of male dominance -- the sports locker room and the...
Babbler! Who guessed C. A is Joel Osteen, purveyor of the prosperity gospel -- God wants you to make money. He seems like a nice enough chap, not mean-spirited, but as a former Catholic, I still have a good deal of alms for the poor in me. I don't like conspicuous consumption; it seems sinful. But it is a perfect mix for social conservatives who don't want to be taxed! B is Billy Graham from the 1970s. Everyone knows Billy Graham. C is Rick...
In this third post about the Horn of Africa and the ongoing famine, I thought I'd address what should be done, which seems appropriate given the visit today to the region by a team of U.S. officials, including Jill Biden (wife of the vice president), USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah, among others. My first two posts assessed (part 1) whether or not climate change could be implicated in the current drought (uncertain) and (part 2) the relative...
Naomi Wolf recently posted a blog on Al Jazeera entitled "America's Reactionary Feminists: what do Palin and Bachmann have that make them so appealing to the American public?" I don't doubt that this is an interesting question. Unfortunately, I was disappointed with the confusing and simplistic answer Wolf provided- particularly the discussion around right wing feminism. It may be worth taking a step back to ask why female politicians who do...
Can you identify which of these prayers was offered by Texas Governor Rick Perry in his prayer rally in Texas today? Yes, the Rick Perry who might run for President. The politician who, if he did run, it would be his nomination to lose. And which are those of prominent televangelists? Bet you can't! Please respond below in the comments section with your guess, and I'll report the results soon. No cheating! Wouldn't it be fun to have a preacher...
NEEEEEERRRRRRRRDS!I am concerned that readers of the Duck are getting the wrong impression about the contributors to the site. I for one was never a nerd. Anyone who knows me will know of my athletic prowess, having piloted my high school football team to the state championship in my freshman year. This academic thing was my back up after I blew out my knee my junior year. Standing at 6'5" with a rocket for an arm, I was a certain top draft...
Funny 8-bit video-game style Game of Thrones Season 1 recap via College Humor. H/T YouBentMyWookie. Warning: spoilers and crudity.
In the nearly three years since the worst global economic crisis in the post-war era, how many articles have appeared in International Relations "flagship" journal, International Organization, with direct relevance to the pressing IPE questions of our time? And no, a review essay on how the financial crisis suggests different directions in the study of financial regulations doesn't count.